


for you, i would fall from grace

by iPhone



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Bechloe Week, Bechloe Week 2019, F/F, Fluff, Pre-Relationship, Romance, Some angst, but it's manageable, dodgeball - Freeform, maybe jesse is a little bit of a nuisance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 09:08:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19971532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iPhone/pseuds/iPhone
Summary: Bechloe Week 2019, Day 4: High School.Chloe Beale hasn’t played dodgeball since high school, but she’s pretty sure this isn’t supposed to be how it goes. Or maybe it is. Nothing feels more like high school than a game of dodgeball with your crush and your crush’s ex.





	for you, i would fall from grace

**Author's Note:**

> I was rewatching Trampoline Dodgeball with Kevin Hart & Anna Kendrick and this idea came to me. Then it got me thinking about all my own personal feelings about dodgeball. I've gotten glasses broken and nasty bruises - all of this before college too. Then I joined a dodgeball league in college for a year. Anyway, this was my attempt to capture all those messy high school feelings, those mushy romantic feelings, and everything in between...and wrap it up neatly to present as a semi-serious, semi-crack piece of fanfic.
> 
> Kind of beta'd, but mistakes are still my own because this was so last minute. Thanks to my irl loves Alicia and Jordan for helping me out. You tolerate everything I do and I APPRECIATE YOU.
> 
> Title is from Taylor Swift's "Don't Blame Me".

It is totally _just_ a game to her at first.

First, because Chloe is a super-senior and she’s kind of over sweating unnecessarily, even if she can admit she sees the appeal in lighthearted exercise.

Two, because the Treblemakers and the Bellas have no more rivalry. All previous rules had up and left with Aubrey’s departure and Chloe sees no point in continuing the long-standing tradition of hating the Trebles. Benji is sweet, Jesse is Beca’s amicable ex-boyfriend, and the other young men are nice enough.

Three, because it _is_ Beca’s idea and Chloe knows Beca could care less about sports generally, so if she’s suggesting this aloud to Chloe’s face, it must mean something. She figures it is more Jesse’s idea than anything and Beca is willing to go along for the ride.

Still, none of that matters and Chloe still giggles when Beca mentions it at their weekly co-captain meeting.

“You want to do _what_?”

“I want to play dodgeball.”

“Okay, but why? You hate anything that propels your heartrate above resting.”

Beca looks mildly offended. “That isn’t true.” She stares at Chloe for a long moment. “I’m not against _all_ activities.”

Something in Beca's tone makes Chloe's breath catch. She wonders if Beca is thinking the same thing. Of the previous night. Soft lips and damp skin. Exploratory fingers. Beca’s name from Chloe’s mouth, breathless and wanting.

It becomes fairly obvious because the light catches in Beca's eyes and she looks a little distant. _Gotcha_ , Chloe thinks. Beca’s momentary deer-in-the-headlights expression is too fun to pass up. “Oh,” Chloe says, mild amusement coloring her tone. “Sex aside, Bec.” She likes the way Beca’s nickname rolls off her tongue. She also likes the way Beca blushes from her forehead to her neck.

It's a little new, this dynamic. While Jesse is Beca’s ex-boyfriend turned acapella partner-in-crime, Chloe is Beca’s sometimes-bedmate. Sometimes-confidante. Sometimes more.

Always uncertain.

Beca recovers fairly quickly and clenches her fists in some form of personal restraint. “Come on, Jesse thinks it’s a good idea. And honestly, it’s for a good cause. We could also use some Bellas bonding time.” Beca doesn’t flinch once upon completing that sentence. Chloe considers applauding her. “We know we’ve got the semi-finals in the bag and it’ll be a good warm up for when we crush the boys later.”

Chloe has no idea what Beca’s idea of a good cause is, but playing a miniature dodgeball tournament at a local high school for the sole amusement of high-schoolers is not Chloe’s idea of a good _time_. She isn’t even certain what the cause is.

But Beca is being adorable and Beca is gazing at her so earnestly (a welcome departure from her usual complacent expression) that Chloe complies almost immediately. 

And besides, Beca _does_ have a point. The Bellas could always use some good team-bonding exercises. She wishes Aubrey were around to hear this all for herself. She’d be so proud.

So, yeah.

It's just a game or two anyway.

* * *

Wait, but–

 _Okay_ , so, maybe there _is_ a little streak of competitiveness that almost instantly rises up in Chloe, she can admit that much. But she chalks it up to the inherent competition between the Bellas and the Trebles. It isn't anything personal. They've been rivals since the day the two groups were created on campus, so it’s out of Chloe’s control, really.

* * *

Beca ends up getting one detail wrong.

Okay, perhaps a _few_ details. But it is totally Jesse’s fault. And maybe Chloe's. Chloe should have asked for all details before agreeing to this. 

It’s just a small problem, really. 

They all end up being registered to be on _one_ team and it becomes the _Barden Acapella Team_ against UGA’s Competitive Dodgeball Team. To clarify, UGA’s literal competitive team, with matching armbands and _uniforms_.

Chloe looks at their own assembled ragtag team composed of some Bellas, some Trebles, and all the off-color t-shirts and mismatched socks.

“What the fuck,” Beca whispers furiously to Jesse. “You said this was lowkey.”

“It is!” he insists. “It’ll be fun!’

“We’re going to die,” Beca says, so matter-of-factly that Chloe also believes that to be their ultimate fate. “I’m going to die in a high school gym class like I always thought I would.”

Chloe is distracted briefly, amused at Beca’s aversion to any physical activity. Then, Chloe gets a grip on reality. “Beca, shut up. We are not going to die. Jesse, this was quite the understatement, but I know we can do it. Right, everybody?”

The other Bellas hover with uncertainty. Chloe tries to smile reassuringly at Flo who is the newest member of their team and also a transfer student to Barden. “It’ll be okay,” Chloe says quickly. “This will be fun!”

Flo gives her an amused, slightly patronizing expression. “I know. This is nothing.”

The referee looks bored as he signals for the two teams to close in. “We’ve won an acapella championship before. This is fine,” Beca whispers. “We got this.”

Chloe doesn’t have the heart to tell her this will be quite different. 

* * *

Chloe wanders to where Beca is standing in a corner, stretching.

“Need some help?”

Beca scoffs. “No.”

Chloe bumps Beca’s shoulder before she leans down to touch her toes. “Nervous?”

“Why would I be?”

Chloe observes the rest of the Bellas and notes that they’re likely not taking this seriously at all. “You know,” Chloe says. “I’m not sure.”

A series of sneaker squeaks echo suddenly throughout the gym. From the corner of her eye, Chloe can see the rest of the players filing in, like a mass of red and black. The striking colors of UGA. Chloe looks down at her cheerfully green _Barden Athletics_ shirt, stolen from an ex a few years ago.

It appears that the other team already has a captain. He snaps his headband on his head and immediately gathers his team close to start giving orders. 

Chloe has to ask herself for the umpteenth time why she's here again, because, _really_ , it is a stupid idea and she’s had her fair share of dumb ideas.

Chloe glances at Beca who is lazily stretching.

Oh. Yeah.

_Teamwork._

Aubrey would be so proud of her.

* * *

"Who's team captain?" Amy asks. “Ref wants to know.”

“Me,” Jesse says immediately.

“Um, you’re not my captain,” Amy points out, but otherwise, nobody disagrees. 

“We’re all on the same team,” Beca points out. “Just figure it out. As long as it’s not me.”

Beca’s voice pulls Chloe back to the present. Suddenly, the urge to harness _all_ of her competitiveness rises to new levels and she stands up straighter. “Wait,” she says before anybody can say anything else

She’s never had a problem with Jesse so she sees and understands the surprise in his eyes. But something clicks for Chloe then, when the surprise gives way to something else, almost foreign to Chloe.

Perhaps Jesse never really saw her as any real competition.

 _That_ feeling is very familiar.

In high school, it had been absurd, but Chloe had always envied the male jocks and their privileges. She hated the way they got to walk around the school with their lettermans and all the confidence in the world.

Chloe had her own share of athleticism and enjoyed modest-enough popularity. She participated in a couple of the women-only teams (volleyball and soccer), but she never got the recognition the boys did. Ultimately, she never wanted to _be_ them, but she always hated the unfairness of it all.

It is also telling that one of her most vivid high school memories is making out with Grace Henderson underneath the bleachers only for Grace to be on Nick Randall’s arm the very next day, his letterman around her shoulders. Grace had shrugged apologetically at her, like it was nothing personal. It was just status.

Before she realizes what she wants to do, her body is acting ahead of itself and she’s suddenly standing next to Jesse, facing the rest of the team. “I’ll be team captain,” Chloe says, as confidently and surely as she can. 

The surprise on both Jesse’s face _and_ Beca’s face is enough to tide her over for a while, she thinks. It is _Stacie_ who smirks at her, like she understands what this is all about (even though Chloe herself doesn't want to openly admit it).

Amy flashes her a thumbs up and heaves a sigh of relief. “No offense, Jesse,” she adds as an afterthought.

Beca, to Chloe’s pleasant surprise, looks relieved at the thought of Chloe leading them through this complete chaos.

"Are you joking?" Jesse asks, his eyes trained on Chloe’s chin. He can’t meet her eyes. “Why?” Chloe has the same question floating through her mind.

Benji hovers near Jesse’s shoulder suddenly. “Dude, it’s fine.”

Jesse shrugs in reaction to both Benji and Chloe’s non-response. "Sorry Chloe, but this was my idea.” 

Chloe knows from there that she's got him scared. It just fuels her more and she feels an almost manic excitement rise up in her. "So?"

Jesse pounces on that. "Tell them, Bec.” The nickname rolls off his tongue easily and with familiarity. 

“Tell us what?” Chloe asks.

Beca is quiet at first, clearly in deep thought. It is the most pensive Chloe has ever seen her and she would laugh at the absurdity of this entire situation if her heart were not threatening to beat right out of her chest. 

For Beca, she stands between two very viable options (though not literally because both Chloe and Jesse are staring her intently and it's kind of freaking her out). Of course she means viable options for _dodgeball captainship_. It is currently the most important decision of Beca’s life. She is not thinking about kissing Chloe. Not at all.

Beca’s first instinct is to throw her hands up and question why they’re all freaking out over dodgeball of all things. Beca never _liked_ dodgeball, not even in high school and it was seen as a free gym period whenever their teacher was too exhausted to actually teach them anything useful in physical education.

She had originally suggested it to Chloe and only Chloe because she heard about the tournament from Jesse. She wanted Chloe to agree to it so they could spend some time together. Yes, with the Bellas, but some time _together_ in an environment outside of school and acapella.

She sighs.

“Sorry dude,” she says to Jesse. “Chloe survived being friends with Aubrey for years. And she can kind of run laps around everybody on our team, so I trust her.”

The tension kind of breaks after that and the Bellas erupt into giggles. Even Benji smiles. Jesse’s lips twitch but he does not look angry. He shrugs and hands the armband to Chloe.

Beca tries not to stare too hard at the way Chloe’s arm flexes beneath the fabric of the armband, visible even beneath the opaque fabric.

She looks away quickly. 

Chloe busies herself with adjusting the armband. It’s a garish yellow color which really goes horribly with her shirt and her hair, but she doesn’t care about it. She doesn’t even feel smug about Beca choosing her over Jesse. She just feels the strangest sense of calm, paired with immense satisfaction.

Okay, maybe a little smug. She’s only human. Definitely only human. She couldn’t stop the way her heart skipped a beat or the heat that rushed through her body when Beca’s eyes tracked down her body slowly and surely.

Still, a part of her had expected Beca to support Jesse. Jesse was _right_ , this was his idea, technically. 

But _God_ , for as long as Chloe can remember, even meeting Beca for the first time at the activities fair and the series of events that followed, it had been remarkable to have Beca take her side on anything at all. 

It felt _glorious_.

Looking up finally, Chloe catches Jesse’s eyes. He doesn’t quite glare at her because he’s not a mean guy, but the look he gives her is wholly unfamiliar.

Chloe has to remind herself that Jesse’s on their team, so it isn't like she can tell him that he’s going down. 

* * *

“What’s some good advice?” Cynthia-Rose asks.

“Don’t die,” Amy supplies helpfully. 

Chloe privately agrees, but she figures she should tack on some actual helpful sentences. “Catch the ball when you can. Please don’t get hit by the ball. Look out for your teammates," she rattles off like a drill sergeant. 

Men and women alike nod their heads at her.

"That's all?" Jesse asks a little skeptically.

Chloe narrows her gaze on him. "Yes, pretty much.” She channels some Aubrey Posen. “Or you will die."

Amy cheers. Jesse’s face goes white. Beca looks like she’s trying not to laugh.

Honestly, Chloe’s a little serious. If dodgeball is anything like she used to play it in high school, she hopes that she can make it through the game in its entirety.

(If this is a reflection of what her life was like in high school, she truly and desperately hopes she can make it through the year in one piece.)

* * *

Unfortunately for Beca, she is their weakest link. While she is small like Lilly and Flo, she doesn’t quite possess their athletic grace. 

Beca’s determination is cute, though.

“Beca,” Chloe says immediately when she catches the other team whispering to each other and looking in Beca’s direction. “They know you suck.”

“How do they know that?” Beca fires back. “We haven’t done anything.”

Chloe bites back a laugh. She loves this woman. “Okay,” is all she says.

* * *

Beca nearly gets beaned in the face _twice_. Right off the bat. The sound she makes amuses Chloe to no end.

They’re two close calls and it appears that Beca knows when she’s pushing her own luck. Suddenly, she’s standing near Chloe, trying hard _not_ to look like she's using Chloe as a human shield. Chloe feels her presence before she sees her.

“I’ll stop the ball from hitting you. All of them.” Chloe says, catching one deftly as it sails towards Beca’s face.

That catches Beca off guard more than the ball had. "You will?”

"Yeah," answers Chloe. "Of course." 

And then Chloe smiles at her like she did on that very first day.

Beca can almost feel the sunshine beating down on her head and her shoulders. Nothing feels quite as warm as the hopeful expression Chloe fixes on her and the millions of unanswered questions that float above them like a blanket of uncertainty.

"Thank you."

Chloe keeps a pleasant-enough smile for only a few seconds more, then she grows serious. "Don't thank me yet. We've barely started."

* * *

Benji gets hit next, right after Chloe sees another Treble go down. It is a hard hit, right on his cheek. He’s pale enough that Chloe can clearly see a perfectly circular red mark. 

Right. They’re up against a literal competitive dodgeball team.

She hopes she made it clear that they were going to barely make it out alive. She already feels sorry for Benji, but she can’t really dwell, not when Beca is–

“Beca?” she murmurs, taking a quick second to spin around.

Oh. There she is.

Beca is surprisingly holding her own. For somebody who barely knew how to punch as to not bruise and injure herself, she whips the ball with some ferocity.

* * *

It is _not_ just a game to Chloe.

It stopped being a game when Beca chose her as team captain.

It stopped being a game at each moment the ball barely misses Beca by a hair and Chloe’s breath catches in her throat.

It stopped being a game a long time ago. 

Maybe even from the moment Beca walked into Chloe’s line of sight. From the moment Beca opened her mouth and sang. 

So it is _not_ just a game. Not anymore.

Chloe is so over games.

* * *

It happens quickly - so quickly - that Chloe doesn’t even think about it. The ball sails towards her and she thinks quickly enough. If she moves in any direction, she leaves Beca unprotected, though Beca seems less and less concerned with protection and more concerned with whipping the ball as best as she can. 

If Chloe ducks, she thinks Jesse is behind her somewhere, but she honestly figures that he’ll catch it.

She _could_ catch the ball, she thinks as it sails towards her unforgivingly.

Beca sees it happen too. 

She exclaims “Chlo, duck!”

So Chloe does.

* * *

Jesse curses as he’s hit right in the face with the ball. It causes him to stumble and nearly fall over. Chloe can _hear_ the impact it makes. It sounds remarkably painful. When she turns, Jesse’s nose is completely red, but he isn’t bleeding. He swipes at his nose uncomfortably and looks betrayed for whatever reason. 

Chloe’s apology dies in her throat, already half-hearted and ill-formed to begin with.

* * *

Jesse is clearly feeling better and Chloe already regrets getting him back in the game. He is unfortunately one of their more decent throwers and he dodges well enough. He looks less winded, but he looks at Chloe reproachfully.

“You could have caught that,” he hisses, within earshot of Beca. 

“No, I couldn’t,” Chloe fires back, not even bothering to look at him.

“Guys, it’s just a game,” Beca’s voice comes from behind them. Between the two of them – Beca and Chloe – Chloe never expected Beca to be the one to play peacemaker in any situation. She is vaguely reminded of Beca breaking up her scuffle with Aubrey. Of Beca walking into a chaotic auditorium and using her voice to stop everybody in their tracks.

Beca has always had that effect on her. Chloe takes pause, momentarily forgetting the chaos around them.

Jesse’s voice cuts through again. “Yeah, Chloe!” He’s laughing, but Chloe hears no humor in his voice. Nor does she see any amusement in his eyes. It’s hollow, a little like how she feels right now. “Why are you taking this game so seriously?”

“Dude, shut up. Jesus,” Beca says quickly and quietly.

Chloe feels like she’s in high school again. Being made fun of for having a crush on the track star who would never give her the time of day. Being told again and again that her value was less than the star of the football team. Dating the second most popular boy in the class above her. Holding hands with the girl in her English class.

All of it is a mess.

She knows now that none of those callous words had been true. The stupidity of teenagers - children really - and the way they let societal perceptions mold them into monsters. 

Something catches in her chest, like the last fleeting gasp of fresh air before she’s choking on her own self-hatred. It had been bottled up for so long.

_I just want to fit in._

_I just want to be chosen._

She looks at Beca.

 _I just want you to stay_. 

Something in Beca’s eyes shifts then. The change is so wondrous to Chloe that she almost forgets that she’s in a smelly high school gymnasium, surrounded by adolescents who honest-to-God paid actual cash to watch young adults make a fool of themselves.

 _It could be worse,_ Chloe thinks. Beca looks at her so softly and so lovingly that Chloe forgets about one-upping Jesse who maybe was never worth all that thought after all. Because, after all, Jesse is not mean or malicious. A little quick to assume, maybe, but they can be adults for a moment. 

She is still watching Beca when Beca’s eyes suddenly widen followed by her lips parting in a surprised gasp.

 _It could be wors_ –

* * *

_Stay._

That’s her last coherent thought.

* * *

“Chloe?” 

Chloe wonders if the feeling ever goes away. The feeling that is wrapped up in the smell of dirty gyms and the sensation of being alone in a crowded room.

Suddenly, she’s in high school again, staring breathlessly up at the endless blue sky. She had been winded from a sharp jab from her own teammate’s elbow, which caused her to trip over her own feet. 

She had only ever wanted to fit in. To be wanted.

To be loved. 

“Chloe,” Beca’s voice comes again, disembodied. “Wake up.”

* * *

“You should probably see a doctor,” comes Beca’s faint voice as Chloe blinks awake slowly. “You went down hard, Chlo.”

It takes Chloe a second to respond. She finds that her shoulder hurts a little bit and the side of her head is a little sore. She’s sure she has a bruise or two, but otherwise, she is fairly unscathed.

“Chloe?” Beca asks again. “You’re like...awake right?” She looks a little frightened.

“I don't need the doctor," Chloe rasps finally. The hoarseness of her voice probably does not help, but she can’t help but offer Beca a reassuring smile. She hopes it does enough.

“That’s what everybody says before it turns out that they do, in fact, need a doctor,” Beca responds sharply. She sounds a little hysterical, in all honesty.

“I’m fine. It’s fine.”

Belatedly, Chloe realizes that she is staring up at a nondescript, sloping ceiling. Pale yellow walls around her. 

“Am I in the nurse’s office?”

“Yeah, we helped carry you in here after the ball basically concussed you.” Beca finally relaxes before a smirk spreads across her lips. “I bribed one of the high schoolers to send me a video.”

Chloe feigns hurt, internally pleased when Beca flushes upon catching sight of the jut of Chloe’s lower lip. “Did we at least win?” Chloe asks. “Please tell me we won.”

“Well, I was kind of carrying you here with Cynthia-Rose and Benji.” Chloe tries to make her impatience known with just her eyes. “Okay, fine, we didn’t win.” Beca shrugs. “We were never even going to win.”

Chloe finds that she does not care about that. She finds it hard to care about anything else really because Beca looks so relieved to see her. So genuinely happy to see her.

Beca is _there_.

Chloe reaches out, pausing halfway in the air between her and Beca. With her hand extended, turned upwards, she waits. Beca slowly and gently places her hand in Chloe's.

"Chloe?" Beca questions.

"Just…" Chloe trails off into a pause, then, "stay, Bec." Her hold loosens, but the mere fact that it's there is enough for both of them. "Stay,” she repeats.

"Okay,” Beca murmurs, all games aside. “I will.”

And she does.


End file.
